The prior art is replete with apparatuses for vacuuming and pulverizing leaf, lawn and garden debris. Of those which we are aware include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,166 relates to a motor-driven shredding apparatus with an inlet provided for lightweight garden waste. The inlet has an essentially vertical orientation and uses gravity to move debris shredded by shredding blades through the apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,056 relates to a horizontally-driven shredding apparatus with an inlet provided for essentially lightweight garden waste. While cooperation is provided between the shredding blades and fan blades attached to a common rotating disc, experience has shown that such cooperation limits the flow rate of debris through the apparatus to a relatively low rate, say to flow rates of 8000 cfm or less.
Experience has further indicated that the expulsion of air-born debris during shredding can be a sufficient environmental hazard. Where water is added to the inputted debris, the apparatuses of the prior art are even more ineffective and the additional weight leads to an unbalancing of the system, especially if the reservoir receiving the pulverized debris is essentially closed to the ambient air.